Replaceable friction members for sword plate guides in mining installation

ABSTRACT

A mineral mining installation composed of a mineral winning machine such as a plough guided for movement along a conveyor. The plough has a sword plate extending beneath the conveyor and guided at the side of the conveyor remote from the machine. This guidance is provided by guide members attached to the sword plate and secured to a drive chain used for moving the plough. Guard plates are attached to the side of the conveyor remote from the machine and U-shaped cover plates are in turn affixed to the guard plates with the aid of screws and spacers. The guide members and drive chain run in a guide channel defined between the guard plates and cover plates and beneath the spacers. Each guide member is elongate and has a transversely-extending recess in its upper face. A roller or wear resistant insert is accommodated in the recess and seats on a spigot therein. Wearresistant pads are also attached to the guide members. As the sword plate tilts the periphery of the roller or a wear-resistant pad attached to the inner face of the insert is allowed to engage on the guard plates.

United States Patent 1 Hauschopp et al.

[ REPLACEABLE FRICTION MEMBERS FOR SWORD PLATE GUIDES IN MINING INSTALLATION [75] Inventors: Alois I-Iauschopp, Werne an der Lippe; Bernd Steinkuhl, Lunen; Oswald Breuer, Dortmund-Husen; Berthold Ostrop, Selm, all of Germany [73] Assignee: Gewerkschatt Eisenhutte Westfalia,

Westfalia, Germany 22 Filed: Feb. 29, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 230,217

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS I 895,283 11/1953 Germany 299/34 [4 1 Oct. 30, 1973 Primary ExaminerErnest R. Purser Attorney-Richard C. Sughrue et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A mineral mining installation composed of a mineral winning machine such as a plough guided for movement along a conveyor. The plough has a sword plate extending beneath the conveyor and guided at the side of the conveyor remote from the machine. This guidance is provided by guide members attached to the sword plate and secured to a drive chain used for moving the plough. Guard plates are attached to the side of the conveyor remote from the machine and U- shaped cover plates are in turn affixed to the guard plates with the aid of screws and spacers. The guide members and drive chain run in a guide channel defined between the guard plates and cover plates and beneath the spacers. Each guide member is elongate and has a transversely-extending recess in its upper face. A roller or wear resistant insert is accommodated 'in the recess and seats on a spigot therein. Wear-resistant pads are also attached to the guide members. As the sword plate tilts the periphery of the roller or a wear-resistant pad attached to the inner face of the insert is allowed to engage on the guard plates.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures Patented 0a. 30, 1973 6 3,768,866

lNVENTOR ATTORNFY REPLACEABLE FRICTION MEMBERS FOR SWORD PLATE GUIDES IN MINING INSTALLATION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates in general to mineral mining installations.

Mineral mining installations composed'of a mineral winning machine guided on a conveyor and having a sword plate extending beneath the conveyor and guided on the side of the conveyor remote from the machine are well known. A drive chain for moving the conveyor is usually attached to'the sword plate on the side of the conveyor remote from the machine. During operation the machine is moved back and forth along the conveyor to detach mineral from a working face. As the cutting tools of the machine encounter the high resistance of the mineral on the face the opposing driving force for the machine acts on the opposite side of the conveyor and hence the sword plate tends to cant or tilt about the centre of the conveyor. This results in a high rate of wear of the guiding devices provided on the side of the installation remote from the machine for guiding the movement of the sword plate. Various proposals have been advanced for overcoming this problem but hitherto there has not been a wholly satisfactory solution to this problem.

A general object of the invention is to provide an improved installation of the aforementioned type.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved guidance for the sword plate and mitigate the wear problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided a mineral mining installation comprising 'a conveyor, a mineral winning machine guided for movement along the conveyor, a sword plate attached to the machine and extending beneath the conveyor, a guide channel formed at the side of the conveyor remote from the machine, guide members carried by the sword plate and disposed for movement within the guide channel and replaceable means carried by each of the guide members and adapted to frictionally engage part of the defining wall of the guide channel when the sword plate is tilted about the longitudinal centre of the conveyor.

Preferably each guide member has a recess for accommodating the replaceable means and preferably the guide members are adapted to be secured to the ends of a chain used to drive the machine along the conveyor.

It is advantageous for the replaceable means to project outwardly beyond the face of the associated guide member nearest the conveyor.

Preferably guard plates are attached end-to-end on the side of the conveyor remote from the machine and U-shaped cover plates are attached to the guard plates with spacers located between the guard plates and cover plates, the guide channel being formed between the guard plates and the cover plates and beneath the spacers so that the replaceable means is engageable with the guard plates.

Each guide member can be in the form of an elongated body with the recess open at the upper face of the body and extending across the body. This enables the replaceable means to be detached and renewed with case.

Each guide member preferably has an upstanding spigot disposed wholly within the recess for receiving and locating the replaceable means.

In one form the replaceable means for each guide member is in the form of a roller which rotates on the spigot and has a portion projecting outwardly from the side of the guide member facing the conveyor.

In another form the replaceable means for each guide member is in the form of a shaped wear-resistant insert located by the spigot to lie snugly within the recess except for a portion projecting outwardly from the side of the guide member facing the conveyor. It is advantageous for a wear-resistant pad to be attached to the outer face of the projecting portion of the insert so that the pad frictionally engages the guard plates or conveyor side wall when the sword plate tilts.

Further it is desirable to provide wear resistant pads on the upper and inner side faces of each guide member. All these wear resistant pads can be. composed of or have a coating of material known as Verdur. A coating of Verdur material can also be advantageously applied to the spigot where the guide members receive rollers constituting the replaceable means.

Further according to the invention additional replaceable means are disposed on the side of the installation remote from the said guide channel, the additional replaceable means being adapted to frictionally engage the side of the conveyor remote from said channel when the sword plate is tilted about the longitudinal centre of the conveyor.

Preferably the sword plate is provided with devices for limiting the depth of cut of the mineral winning machine and the additional replaceable means are combined with said device.

The invention may be understood more readily and various other features of the invention may become more apparent from consideration of the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional end view of a mineral mining installation made in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the installation shown in FIG. 1 with the conveyor removed therefrom; and

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a further form of guide member for use in the installation.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a mineral mining installation is composed of a conveyor 10 composed of a series of channel sections joined end-to-end. For the sake of clarity the conveyor 10 is not shown in FIG. 2 but the outer upper edges of the conveyor side walls are depicted with chain/dotted lines in this Figure. A mineral winning machine in the form of a plough 11 is guided on the mineral face side wall of the conveyor 10. This side wall of the conveyor 10 is also provided with devices 25 which project outwardly from the side wall towards the mineral face and limit the depth of cut of the plough 11. Such devices are well known per se.

On the goaf side wall of the conveyor 10 are disposed upstanding guard plates 15 affixed to the side wall. A series of U-shaped cover plates 16 are in turn attached to the plates 15 with the aid of screws (not shown). The

cover plates 16 are spaced apart from the guard plates by means of intermediate centrally located spacers 17.

The plough 11 is provided with a sword plate 12 extending beneath the conveyor 10. At the goaf side edge of the sword plate 12 there are guide members 13 which are disposed near the ends of the sword plate 12. These guide members 13 may be connected to the ends of a chain (not shown) used for moving the plough 11 along the conveyor 10. A further traction member (not shown) may also be connected between the members 13. The guide members 13 and the drive chain are received for guidance in a channel 14 formed between the plates 15, 16 and beneath the spacers 17.

As shown more particularly in FIG. 2 each guide member 13 is in the form of an elongate body having a shaped cut out in its outer side face to receive a link of the drive chain. Each guide member 13 also has a transversely extending recess 19 in its upper face which accommodates a roller 18. Each roller 18 is mounted for rotation about an upright spigot 20 affixed to the body of the associated member 13. The periphery of each of the rollers 18 projects inwardly beyond the inner side face of the body of the associated member 13 and towards the guard plates 15. Apart from this projection the rollers 18 and their spigots 20 are located wholly within the recesses 19.

During operation of the installation the plough 11 would be moved along the mineral face by means of the drive chain to cut a layer of mineral from the face. The frictional resistance encountered by the cutting tools of the plough 11 tends to made the sword plate 12 tilt about the longitudinal centre of the conveyor 10. Depending upon the direction of movement of the plough 11 one or other of the guide members 13 will be displaced towards the guide plates 15 so that the roller 18 thereof will engage the plate 15 to preclude unnecessary wear of the guide member 13.

In the modified construction depicted in FIG. 3, each of the guide members 13 is provided with pads 21 of wear-resistant material on its upper face and pads 22 of wear-resistant material on its inner side face. In a further modification also depicted in FIG. 3, the roller 18 may be replaced by an insert 23 of wear-resistant material which is also accommodated in the recess 19 and seats on the spigot 20. The insert 23 is shaped so as to substantially fill the recess 19 and the inner side face of the insert 23 isprovided with a pad 24 of wear-resistant material. Similarly to the construction depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 as the sword plate 12 cants the pad 24 or pads 24,22 of one of the guide members frictionally engages the plates 15. Preferably the pads 24 extend further towards the plates 15 than do the pads 22 so that the wear occurs primarily on the pads 24. Thus from time to time the inserts 23 and their pads 24 can be replaced.

In a further modification, not illustrated, rollers 18 or wear resistant inserts 23 can also be provided on the mineral face side of the installation so as to engage the mineral face side wall of the conveyor 10 when the sword plate 12 tilts. These additional rollers 18 or inserts 23 can be advantageously combined with the devices 25 although they may be incorporated in separate assemblies mounted on the mineral face edge portion of the sword plate 12.

We claim:

1. A mineral mining installation comprising:

a. a conveyor;

b. a mineral winning machine guided for movement along the conveyor;

c. a sword plate attached to the machine and extending beneath the conveyor;

d. guard plates attached end-to-end on the side of the conveyor remote from the machine;

e. U-shaped cover plates attached to the guard plates;

. spacers disposed between the guard plates and cover plates to form upper and lower guide channels for receiving a drive chain used to move the machine along the conveyor;

g. guide members carried by the sword plate and disposed within the lower guide channels, each guide member being in the form of an elongate body having a recess open at the upper face of the body and extending across the body, and a shaped cut-out enabling attachment between the chain and said body;

h. an upstanding spigot mounted in the recess of each guide member; and

i. a replacable roller rotatably carried by each of said spigots and arranged to lie wholly within the associated recess except for a peripheral portion extending outwardly beyond the face of the guide member adjacent the guard plates whereby the roller can engage and run along the guard plates when the sword plate is tilted about the longitudinal centre of the conveyor.

2. A mineral mining installation comprising:

a. a conveyor;

b. a mineral winning machine guided for movement along the conveyor;

c. a sword plate attached to the machine and extending beneath the conveyor;

d. guard plates attached end-to-end on the side of the conveyor remote from the machine;

e. U-shaped cover plates attached to the guard plates;

f. spacers disposed between the guard plates and cover plates to form upper and lower guide chan.

nels for receiving a drive chain used to move the machine along the conveyor;

g. guide members carried by the sword plate and disposed within the lower guide channels, each guide member being in the form of an elongate body having a recess open at the upper face ofthe body and extending across the body, and a shaped cut-out enabling attachment between the chain and said body;

h. an upstanding spigot mounted in the recess of each guide member; and

. a replaceable insert located by each of said spigots and snugly received in the associated recess, the insert having a pad of wear-resistant material on the face disposed nearest the guard plates and projecting outwardly from this face towards the guard plates, whereby the pad of the insert can frictionally engage and slide along the guard plates when the sword plate is titled about the longitudinal centre of the conveyor. 

1. A mineral mining installation comprising: a. a conveyor; b. a mineral winning machine guided for movement along the conveyor; c. a sword plate attached to the machine and extending beneath the conveyor; d. guard plates attached end-to-end on the side of the conveyor remote from the machine; e. U-shaped cover plates attached to the guard plates; f. spacers disposed between the guard plates and cover plates to form upper and lower guide channels for receiving a drive chain used to move the machine along the conveyor; g. guide members carried by the sword plate and disposed within the lower guide channels, each guide member being in the form of an elongate body having a recess open at the upper face of the body and extending across the body, and a shaped cut-out enabling attachment between the chain and said body; h. an upstanding spigot mounted in the recess of each guide member; and i. a replacable roller rotatably carried by each of said spigots and arranged to lie wholly within the associated recess except for a peripheral portion extending outwardly beyond the face of the guide member adjacent the guard plates whereby the roller can engage and run along the guard plates when the sword plate is tilted about the longitudinal centre of the conveyor.
 2. A mineral mining installation comprising: a. a conveyor; b. a mineral winning machine guided for movement along the conveyor; c. a sword plate attached to the machine and extending beneath the conveyor; d. guard plates attached end-to-end on the side of the conveyor remote from the machine; e. U-shaped cover plates attached to the guard plates; f. spacers disposed between the guard plates and cover plates to form upper and lower guide channels for receiving a drive chain used to move the machine along the conveyor; g. guide members carried by the sword plate and disposed within the lower guide channels, each guide member being in the form of an elongate body having a recess open at the upper face of the body and extending across the body, and a shaped cut-out enabling attachment between the chain and said body; h. an upstanding spigot mounted in the recess of each guide member; and i. a replaceable insert located by each of said spigots and snugly received in the associated recess, the insert having a pad of wear-resistant material on the face disposed nearest the guard plates and projecting outwardly from this face towards the guard plates, whereby the pad of the insert can frictionally engage and slide along the guard plates when the sword plate is titled about the longitudinal centre of the conveyor. 